The present application is related to vehicle service system consoles, and in particular to a machine vision vehicle wheel alignment service system console with an integrated structure for supporting a vertical post carrying a machine vision sensor cross member.
Vehicle service systems, such as machine vision vehicle wheel alignment systems, generally consist of an operator workstation or console, and a set of associated sensors for acquiring vehicle measurements. For machine vision vehicle wheel alignment systems, the sensors may consist generally of a set of cameras mounted to opposite ends of a cross member in an elevated position on a vertical post secured to the floor. The cameras are oriented such that associated fields of view encompass the left and right sides of a vehicle undergoing a wheel alignment measurement procedure on a lift rack or within a vehicle service bay.
The operator workstation or console provides a structure to organize the various user interface components, such as a keyboard, a mouse, a display unit, and a printer, while containing the associated power supply components, processing system, accessory storage, and necessary electrical cable routing. Typically, the cameras mounted to the cross member are coupled to the processing system by associated electrical cables, necessitating either lengthy cable runs from the location of the vertical post to the workstation or console, or placement of the workstation or console in close proximity to the vertical post. Lengthy cable runs across a shop floor can present a trip hazard, increase clutter, are at risk of being damaged in a vehicle service shop environment, and hence are not ideal. While placement of the operator workstation or console in proximity to a vertical post may reduce the need for lengthy cable runs, the workstation or console may occupy valuable floor space in a prime location adjacent to the column, and/or lead to wasted floor space if the workstation or console cannot be positioned flush against a wall or the vertical post itself.
In some configurations, the vertical post is positioned on, but not affixed to, the workshop floor, and is instead secured along a vertical surface directly to an external side surface of an adjacently disposed operator workstation or console, such as can be seen in the Hawkeye Series HS200CM product sold by Hunter Engineering Company of St. Louis, Mo. Attachment to the external side surface of the operator workstation or console reduced the need for lengthy cable runs, but does not achieve optimal usage of the workshop floor space, as the vertical post remains outside of the housing footprint of the operator workstation or console. If the vertical post is secured to the rear external side surface of the operator workstation or console, the combined assembly cannot be positioned flush against a wall due to the protrusion of the vertical post. Furthermore, attachment of a full height vertical post to an external side surface of an operator workstation or console, which rests on a floor of a vehicle service area, significantly increases the weight the workstation or console, rendering repositioning within the shop environment difficult and potentially dangerous due to an uneven (i.e. top-heavy) distribution of mass.
In another known configuration, the vertical post is bolted to a workshop floor in an appropriate location to provide the associated cameras with the necessary fields of view. A workstation or console unit is then hung directly from the vertical post, at a height appropriate for a service technician, such as seen in the WA series column mount consoles sold by Hunter Engineering Company. With this configuration, the console is suspended above the floor, leaving the workshop floor clear of obstructions and/or electrical cable runs. However, with this type of configuration, the combination of the vertical post and the suspended workstation or console is immobile, as it must remain affixed to the workshop floor for stability.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide an operator workstation or console for use in a vehicle service system, and in particular, a machine vision vehicle wheel alignment service system with an integrated camera support column, which is compact, self-contained, and which can be easily repositioned within a workshop environment. It would be further advantageous to provide such an operator workstation or console with an internal storage volume which is not significantly impacted by internal support structures necessary to secure a vertical post or camera support column carrying a machine vision sensor cross member and associated cameras.